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Joanna Simon

One of the UK’s big supermarket buyers said to me recently, with a note of desperation in his voice: “Anything you can do to help us sell more riesling, we’d be really grateful for.” Well, I’m not here to help supermarkets or anyone else sell their wines, but I would like to see people drink more riesling, because I’m convinced that drinkers of chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, viognier et al would be wowed by riesling. In blind tastings (ie when people can’t see the bottle), riesling always comes out well, but when people know what they are drinking, it is blighted by its own image: riesling is still viewed as unsophisticated, sweet, insipid. The reality is that the riesling grape produces intensely flavoured, wonderfully refreshing white wines. Some are sweet (nothing wrong with that), but many are dry. Some of the greatest are German, but many others, especially dry